May 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 5
Feds, insurers step into the fray
"We're from the government, and we're here to help -- really."
That was the message HHS conveyed in January when it released an action plan to fight the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance in the United States.
The Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance (http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance) includes these components: surveillance, prevention and control, research and product development.
In addition, a consortium of 25 health plans and insurers held a news conference in Washington April 17 to launch a public health initiative about the hazards of overprescribing antibiotics. "There is a mindset that antibiotics are a cure-all for 'what ails ya.' But in many cases, the patient just needs to take an over-the-counter cold or flu medicine to feel better," said AAFP President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wis., at the news conference.
Through the initiative, posters and pamphlets will soon be showing up in doctors' offices and workplaces, and free samples of over-the-counter cold and flu remedies will be sent to supplant the antibiotic samples handed out by pharmaceutical reps.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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